Research Facilities

All our research staff and students benefit from the world-class facilities that make Southampton one of the best learning environments in the UK.

Engineering and the Environment

University of Southampton Wind TunnelsOur wind tunnels offer world class facilities capable of accommodating anything from half day validation studies to extended research work on everything from yachts to wind turbines to racing cars. The tunnels serve many purposes including teaching, research and commercial work.

Flight SimulatorThe Southampton flight simulator is unique in the UK, developed by students for students. Originally funded by BAE Systems, many third- and fourth-year group projects have been involved in developing the hardware and software for the simulator over a decade. It plays an important role in the design, testing and manufacturing aspects of air vehicles.

Health Sciences

Clinical Academic Research FacilityOur researchers benefit from a dedicated facility to develop and support pioneering research into patient safety and essential care. Modern laboratories and research facilities will benefit patients at their bedside, including areas such as preventing pressure ulcers, nutritional support, infection control and end of life care.

BiomechanicsThe Faculty of Health Science features a series of biomechanics laboratories over two separate sites equipped with state-of-the-art equipment in which we carry out our cutting-edge research.

Humanities

Historical archives and special collectionsOur historical archives and special collections include the Wellington and Palmerston archive and online databases, the Broadlands archive, and collections on named subjects such as the Parkes Jewish Studies collection, one of the best of its kind in the world.

Chawton House LibraryWe have a strong collaborative relationship with Chawton House Library (former residence of Jane Austen). The library houses a unique collection of books focusing on women's writing in English from 1600 to 1830.

Medicine

The Biomedical Imaging UnitThe Biomedical Imaging Unit provides research facilities and diagnostic services in high quality and high resolution light and electron microscopy.

The University of Southampton Clinical Trials UnitThe Clinical Trials Unit provides expertise in the design, conduct and analysis of clinical trials. The CTU is particularly valuable for investigators running interventional and multicentre studies. Our expert staff will help with protocol design, costing, grant submissions, site set up and the smooth running, timely recruiting and high quality data acquisition and analysis.

Natural and Environmental Sciences

Research vesselsOur research vessels are used by staff and students for a range of field work and research. Our vessels include R.V. Callista, a 19.75m catamaran designed for a range of coastal and shelf research, and R.V. Bill Conway, a 12m vessel for use in local waters. Other nearshore work can be conducted from our RIB.

Interdisciplinary Centre for NMRThe centre provides state-of-the-art instrumentation and expertise to support interdisciplinary research ranging from medicine to physics. Our dedicated laboratory is equipped with a 400 MHz and two 600 MHz instruments for solution and solid state NMR.

Find out more about research facilities in Natural and Environmental Sciences:

Physical Sciences and Engineering

The Mountbatten BuildingThe Mountbatten Building houses the Zepler Institute Cleanroom Complex, one of Europe’s leading multidisciplinary state-of-the-art cleanroom complexes, providing flexible research space for nanotechnology and photonics. The building provides a research base for the Zepler Institute, ECS Nano research group, the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre, and the Optoelectronics Research Centre.

The Tony Davies High Voltage LaboratoryThe Tony Davies HV Laboratory is an active centre for research into dielectric materials and insulation systems, as well as high voltage and related phenomena. It is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, supported by a specialist engineering team who are all actively involved in internationally leading research.

Find out more about research facilities in Physical Sciences and Engineering: